DAVIS-STIRLING REWRITE

QUESTION: Will my homeowners association have to update its documents to conform to the 2014 Civil Code changes including references to past Civil Code numbers?

ANSWER: You may need to update your documents for other reasons--because they are out of date, badly written, contain Declarant language, are ambiguous about maintenance duties, etc. but restating your documents for the sole reason of changing Civil Code numbering is admirable but not necessary.

Renumbering. The most noticeable change in the Davis-Stirling Act is the renumbering. The current Act is found in sections 1350 to 1378 of the Civil Code. The rewrite moves everything to sections 4000 to 6150 of the Civil Code. (see Conversion Chart). For example, Civil Code §1350 becomes §4000 starting January 1, 2014. If your CC&Rs and bylaws refer to the old numbering system, there is no legal requirement that you switch to the new numbering system. If you decided to do so, it can be done with a simple board resolution.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law or provision of the governing documents, if the governing documents include a reference to a provision of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act that was repealed and continued in a new provision by the act that added this section, the board may amend the governing documents, solely to correct the cross-reference, by adopting a board resolution that shows the correction. Member approval is not required in order to adopt a resolution pursuant to this section. (Civ. Code §4235(a).)

Recommendation: If your governing documents need updating to get rid of legalese, eliminate confusing declarant language, include disclosure requirements and Open Meeting provisions, then renumbering references to the Civil Code make sense.